Lesson 11: The names of Allah are Husnaa (Pinnacle of perfection), and what are the 4 forms of Ilhad (Distortion)?

The names of Allah are described as “husnaa”, i.e. at the pinnacle of perfection

We have been commanded in the quran to make mention of his names and a severe weartning has been made aha-inst those who make Ilhaad (distortion, deviation, rejection) and that indeed Allah will hold them to account with a severe reckoning

Allah says: “And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them, and leave the company of those who believe or deny (or utter impious speech against) His Names. They will be recompensed for what they used to do.” [Surah Al-Ar’raaf (The Heights) verse 180]

Therefore it is important for EVERY muslim to make time to study the beautiful names of Allah and that he/she understands these names and attributes correctly

Allah says: “Verily, those who turn away from Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc. by attacking, distorting and denying them), are not hidden from Us. Is he who is cast into the Fire better or he who comes secure on the Day of Resurrection? Do what you will. Verily! He is All-Seer of what you do (this is a severe threat to the disbelievers).” [Surah Fussilat (They are Explained in Detail) verse 40]

All of the names of Allah are husnaa, Allah due to his perfection, might, majesty and greatness is not names except with the most perfect and beautiful of names.

Likewise Allah does not have any attribute except that it is perfect

The praise of Allah is only made upon the most perfect and best of praise

Nothing can take the place or replace the names of Allah

Allah mentions his names as being husnaa in four places in the Qur’an

Al-A’raaf (The Heights) verse 180

Al-Israa (The Journey by Night) verse 110

Daa-Haa (Ta-Ha) verse 08

Al-Hashr (The Gathering) verse 24

Each of the names of Allah has an attribute of perfection associated with it

Each of the attributes of Allah has an attribute of perfection associated with it similarly

All of Allah’s names and attributes indicate absolute perfection, not a single one of them has any element of deficiency associated with it.

Every name of Allah carries a distinct attribute of perfection and meaning which is unique from all the others, no two names of his are the same.

What are some examples?

Therefore, when one looks at the names and attributes of Allah, they all indicate Allah

Ibn Qayyim said all the names of Allah are praise, had they been merely names with no meaning, then this would not have indicated any praise or perfection. Rather all the names carry attributes which are upon the pinnacle of perfection

When one considers all the above, it becomes clear that learning the names and attributes of Allah is something one MUST learn and put into practice. For example, when Allah says “And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them”, then this can only be actualised by understanding them in the first place so that one knows what he or she is saying when calling upon Allah with his names.

If one does not know the meanings of the names and attributes of Allah, then it may be that his/her dua becomes inappropriate, for example someone asking Allah for mercy, yet using his name that he is the most severe in punishment

If you were to look into the Qur’an you can find many places where the names of Allah are mentioned, e.g. at the end of a verse, and the names always correspond to the context of the verse.

What are some examples?

Ibn Qayyim says Allah loves that the creation be upon the

Allah is the All-Knowing, so he loves those of Knowledge

That he is the All Perfect and loves Perfection

He is the Oft-Forgiving, and loves those who forgive others

He is The Appreciative, so loves the thankful

Etc

Importance of leaving the ones who make Ilhad (distortions) in the names of Allah

Linguistically Ilhad means to incline away or distort something

These people make distortions of the names of Allah away from their realities

Ilhad takes many forms from the people of innovation

Allah warned against this ilhad severely, therefore it is upon every muslim to learn about it so that you can stay away from it

There is a saying: Learn the evil not for the sake of the evil, but in order to safeguard yourself from it, for indeed the one who does not know the evil from the people will fall into ti

4 Forms of Ilhad:

1. To take the names of Allah give them to the Idols

For example, Al-laat, Uzza and Manaat were distortions of Allah’s names, the polytheists distorted the original names and gave these new names to their Idols

To name allah with a name which is not befitting of his might and majesty.

This will happen whenever one makes up or invents a name which is not from the Qur’an and Sunnah

For example the christians name Allah “The Father” and philosophers used to say call Allah some sort of “prime mover/force”. Some people of innovations used to call Allah the engineer of creation

To reject the names of Allah is ilhad

Many of the people of Innovation do this

To make comparison or resemblance between the names of Allah and his creation then this is ilhad.

Allah says in the Quran: “The Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you mates from yourselves, and for the cattle (also) mates. By this means He creates you (in the wombs). There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.” [Surah Ash-Shura (The Consultation) verse 11]

Lesson 10: The One who loves a thing/person besides Allah becomes imprisoned and tortured by it

Brief recap of previous lesson:

Ibn Al-Qayyim says from among the means of bringing about relaxation of the Chest is Inaaba (turning to Allah in repentance) and to love Allah with all your heart;

Different forms of Love, which is permissible and which is impermissible?

Love for Allah expands the chest in spite of the difficulties one may face in life

Look at the example of the life of Ibn Taymiyyah, see Lesson 5

Look at the statement of Shaikh Muqbil, see Lesson 9

Ibn Qayyim says a person in whose heart the love of Allah has settled, then such a person’s chest becomes tight only when he sees the people who are idle, lazy and heedless in returning to Allah, those who do not relish in his Worship become an eye sore and mixing with them troubles him as though he has been struck by a fever.

Everyone makes mistakes, the type of heedless people mentioned here are those who do not turn in repentance to Allah

Why do such righteous people feel like this? because they realise it is not possible to guide everyone and so their heart becomes uneasy

For that reason you will find that prison was a form of seclusion for the likes of Shaykh ul Islam Ibn-Taymiyyah

Ibn Qayyim says from the greatest causes of suffocation of the chest is to turn away from Allah and the heart being attached to someone/something other than him, and being heedless of his remembrance

Whoever loves something besides Allah in a manner only befitting Allah (or in an impermissible form), then his heart will be agonised by it, his heart will be imprisoned by it and as a result of this no one will be in a more bitter and ill-tempered state than him

Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami says Ibn Qayyim mentions a disease in order to describe the cure

Turning away from Allah could lead to apostasy

Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Abdulwahhaab mentions that among the nullifiers of a person’s Islam is him/her turning away from the religion (NOTE: there are different levels of turning away, not all of them lead to Apostasy)

The proof for the above is the verse : “And who does more wrong than he who is reminded of the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of his Lord, then he turns aside therefrom? Verily, We shall exact retribution from the Mujrimun (criminals, disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, etc.).” [Surah Sajdah (The Prostration) verse 22]

Turning away from the religion of Allah to the extent that someone does not raise his head to study it may form a basis for apostasy

Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami says the one who becomes infatuated with his Imam (e.g. sufi “pir”), to such an extent that this love carries humility and debasement, then this is Shirk (associating partners to Allah, Polytheism) as only Allah deserves to be loves in this way

Shirk is the greatest sin of all in Islam

This is because Shirk decreases and makes imperfect the love of Allah

A person who does Shirk such as this, but claims to have eemaan, then this is merely superficial eemaan

Ibn Qayyim says that the one who loves someone/something, at the expense of being obedient to Allah, and turns away from Allah, then he will be tortured by it, grief and sorrow will eat away at his/her soul.

Note, this is not the natural love that is mean here e.g. loving one’s child etc

What is intended is love which goes above and beyond natural inclination to such an extent that the person obeys

The person will be tortured in three different stages

When they are in pursuit of that thing/someone (e.g. a person, or money etc), their heart is restless and does not experience joy

When they finally obtain that thing, then he/she heart obsesses and agonizes over how to keep hold of it, being fearful of losing it

The final pain, that one day that desired thing/person will leave him/her, either while they are still alive, or at their deathbed.

In the grave, such a person will realise that they will never regain that desired thing/person

He loses the aid of Allah

Ibn Qayyim says again that love is of two types:

One form is the love that is paradise on earth, the nourishment, life and cure of the soul, indeed this is loving Allah with all of one’s heart

The second form is the torture of the soul, the sadness of the spirit, the imprisonment of the heart and the tightness of the chest. Indeed this is to love others besides Allah, with love that belongs only to him.